NON-governmental organisation Green Brunei will be organising its third Green Leaders Camp from September 20-23. Themed “Protecting Marine Ecosystem’’, the youth camp will focus on training of youth leaders and youth mobilisation, through the exposure of issues and environmental initiatives led by NGOs in the country. The camp aims to empower participants through a variety of workshops such as volunteerism, leadership, and many others. Green Brunei’s project manager Muhd Firdaus Hj Ismail (pictured) yesterday called for the youth throughout the sultanate to be part of the climate change movement. “We will be inviting speakers from local youth-led NGOs and an organisation from the Philippines called ‘The Climate Change Project’. The workshop sessions would be very hands-on and I’m sure the participants would be looking forward for the turtle workshop,” said…

ALTHOUGH Brunei is a small country, the forest-rich nation can be a leading example in environmental protection efforts in the region as part of the initiative to address climate change. Khairunnisa Ash’ari (pictured), co-founder and the community engagement director of Green Brunei, stated this in an exclusive interview with The Brunei Times, sharing that the world is seeing dramatic effects of climate change in various parts of the world, including rising sea levels, extreme weather shifts and severe flooding. “With disasters hitting Myanmar and the Middle East last month, climate change is becoming a pressing reality… Our recent trip to Singapore to attend the ASEAN Power Shift last July has shown us how serious the issue has become and how little action has been taken to combat this issue,” she…

YOUTH who are inspired, motivated and filled with passion can become individuals who can accomplish just about anything. Here in the Sultanate, there are quite a number who can prove just that and The Brunei Times had the privileged of retelling some of their journey to greatness.   Inspirational youth   Ambitious, determined and passionate would be some words that come to mind upon meeting Khairunnisa Ash’ari, an advocate for youth development and climate change action and the co-founder of Green Brunei, who has won the Youth Service Award in 2013, ASEAN Youth Day Award in 2014 and the Queen’s Young Leaders Award in June this year. Based on its website, the prestigious UK-based award recognises and celebrates youth from the Commonwealth, aged 18 t0 29, who are examples in…

SOME 20 youths from various environmental organisations and different educational backgrounds, including pre-university students, participated in a national consultation on issues pertaining to climate change and its effects on the country. The event, which was organised by Green Brunei with support from the Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation (JASTRe) and held at the Ministry of Development’s Bertabur Hall, was aimed at coming up with a plan for a position paper on climate change by collating ideas and opinions that in turn will be forwarded to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Power Shift, scheduled for July 24-26 in Singapore. A student, Abdul Muqsit bin Haji Jafari, from Sayyidina Ali Secondary School (SMSA) in Kuala Belait, said, “It was an interesting discussion with youth representatives from various environmental groups.…

FOUR students from Sayyidina Ali Secondary School (SMSA) participated in a national consultation to discuss climate change issues within the country with other youths from various environmental organisations. It was the first time the pre-university students - Abdul Muqsit Hj Jafari, Asila Hanum Hj Ahad, Muhd Zulqarnain Hj Zulaihi and Nur Hanis Nazihah Ideris - participated in such discussion, where they shared their insights and ideas on the matter. According to Abdul Muqsit, it was an interesting discussion with 16 other youth representatives from different environmental groups in Brunei, which gave them a valuable learning experience and golden opportunity for those unfamiliar with the issue. “We hope what has been discussed will help solve the issue, not only locally but internationally,” he said. As the `other participants are on a…